Pages

Sunday, 7 June 2015

Indian Restaurant-Style Mint Sauce and Onion Salads

I've been trying to re-create the onion salad or chutney that we get with poppadoms in our local Indian/Bangladeshi restaurants. There are two types; one is quite plain with a bit of cucumber and tomato; the other has a sweet and spicy red sauce. The 'secret' ingredient in both recipes is chopped coriander, which complements the mint.I've previously blogged my mint sauce dip, but thought I'd add it here too.Each recipe serves 4-6 with poppadoms, bhajis or samosas. They also go well with vegetarian barbecued food.Red, sweet onion salad

2 medium white onions, diced into approx 1cm pieces

2 tbsp tomato ketchup

2 tbsp mango chutney (sweet or spicy depending on preference)

1 tbsp tomato purée/paste

1 tsp unsweetened mint sauce concentrate (Colemans)

2 tsp chopped fresh or frozen coriander leaves

Chop the onions and separate the layers.

Mix all of the remaining ingredients together and then stir in the raw onions.

Allow to marinate for an hour or so, in the fridge, before serving.

Plain onion salad (Kachumber)

2 medium white onions, quartered and sliced finely

2.5 cm/1" chunk of cucumber, de-seeded, quartered and sliced finely

1 tomato, de-seeded, quartered and sliced finely

½ tsp dried mint

2 tsp chopped fresh or frozen coriander leaves

2 tsp lemon juice

A little red chilli powder, to taste (optional)

Chop the onions and separate the layers.

Mix with all of the remaining ingredients.

Allow to marinate for an hour or so, in the fridge, before serving.

Mint sauce
This is my version of the thin, pourable mint sauce (not the thicker raita), which is normally green and served with poppadoms and onion bhajis. If you want to, you can add a few drops of green food colouring, or a pinch of turmeric to give it some colour, but I don't think it needs it!

1 cup of plain yogurt or dairy-free yogurt

1 small clove of garlic, crushed

1 tsp caster sugar

1 tsp unsweetened mint sauce concentrate (Colemans)

A few dashes of hot chilli sauce

1 tsp chopped fresh or frozen coriander leaves (optional)

Mix all of the ingredients together. Chill until needed.Top tip:If you can't find mint sauce concentrate, either use ½ tsp of dried mint or 2-3 tsp regular mint sauce, strained through a tea strainer to remove most of the vinegar. Adjust the amount of extra sugar added accordingly.

How to cook poppadoms in the microwave...

Traditionally poppadoms are deep fried in oil, but they taste nearly as good when cooked in the microwave and are much lower in fat. Look in the Asian section of your supermarket for brands of uncooked poppadoms, such as Ruby or Natco, as they are much cheaper and better than the big UK brands. You can microwave them dry, for a fat-free snack, but they taste better and expand more, when wiped (use a sheet of kitchen towel) or sprayed on both sides with a little vegetable oil before cooking.

Thanks very much for your comment. I love hearing your opinions, so please rest assured that genuine comments and competition entries will be visible after approval. This may take 24-48 hours, depending on how hectic my work/home life is at the time!

LinkWithin

About Me

My vegetarian family food and lifestyle blog is called We Don’t Eat Anything with a Face as I find that’s the easiest way to explain what we do (and don’t) eat.
As a busy, working mum with two teenage daughters, I need to be able to produce quick and easy, budget-friendly meals. Sometimes my kids cook for the family using my recipes, which is even better!
All of my recipes are cooked with and tested on my family. If they don’t like them, I don’t blog them!
I also post ideas for home made crafts and gifts, plus reviews on vegetarian, vegan & budget-friendly cook books, food/home/kitchen products, restaurants, travel and beauty.